The next day, Uchiha Fugaku left behind a spore clone in his place and quietly departed from Konoha.
Aside from being weaker in combat, the spore clone was identical to him in every way.
As long as he didn't engage in battle, no one would notice even if he was gone for an extended period.
Besides, there were very few situations in Konoha that required his personal involvement.
Even if something did come up, there were other Uchiha clan members who could handle it—there was no need for the clan head himself to act.
One day later, Uchiha Fugaku arrived at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water.
The Land of Water, surrounded on all sides by sea, lay across the ocean from the Land of Fire.
By this point, Fugaku had already altered his appearance and physique, disguising himself as a wandering ninja with long black hair and a katana hanging at his waist.
This identity belonged to a would-be mugger he had encountered on the road. After eliminating the man and completely erasing his presence from the world, Fugaku assumed his identity.
Arriving at a coastal harbor, Fugaku began searching for a merchant ship bound for the Land of Water.
While it was true that he could walk on water as a ninja, the sea separating the Land of Fire and the Land of Water was too vast. He didn't have enough chakra to maintain the journey all the way across.
At the harbor, he quickly spotted a merchant ship.
"Hurry up! Hurry up! Don't slack off! I'm paying you good money, not to stand around doing nothing!"
It was a rather large vessel, and many laborers were busy loading cargo onto it.
A man with a thin mustache was barking orders at them, his tone sharp and impatient as he scolded a few workers who were moving too slowly.
Fugaku approached and asked,
"Is this ship heading to the Land of Water?"
"That's right. We're setting sail for the Land of Water tomorrow. Planning to come aboard?"
The mustached man looked Fugaku up and down, and a smile instantly spread across his face.
He was harsh with the hired help, but when it came to potential paying customers, he turned warm and accommodating in an instant.
There was no choice but to be friendly—if he wasn't, how would he get people to part with their money?
"Yes, I'm planning to take this ship to the Land of Water," Fugaku replied with a nod.
"Thank you for your business. That'll be ten thousand ryō."
A paying customer, just as he thought. The man's greasy smile widened, his face practically blooming like a chrysanthemum.
Fugaku handed over the ten thousand ryō and received a wooden boarding pass, which would grant him a room on the ship and access to the voyage scheduled for tomorrow.
With the ship not departing until the next day, Fugaku found himself with time to spare. He needed to find an inn for the night.
Although a ninja could easily spend the night outdoors, he preferred a more comfortable rest if the option was available.
Leaving the harbor, he entered the nearby town.
Thanks to the harbor, the town was quite bustling.
Restaurants, gambling dens, inns… all kinds of establishments lined the streets. He even passed a brothel where streetwalkers stood out front trying to solicit passersby.
One of the women even tried to grab his arm, but she backed off immediately after one look from him.
He wasn't Jiraiya he had no interest in these kinds of vulgar distractions.
He stopped in front of an inn with decent decor and walked in.
After renting a room, he followed the clerk down the hall to his accommodations.
"Lady Tsunade, you can't go to the gambling den again today. If you keep gambling, we won't even have enough money left to eat!"
"What are you saying? I'm going to win back everything I lost today and then some."
"Lady Tsunade, are you being serious…?"
From around a corner in the hallway, two somewhat familiar female voices reached his ears. Fugaku paused for a moment.
The voices were familiar because he had heard them before.
From the conversation, it was easy to tell: the speakers were clearly Tsunade and Shizune.
His surprise lasted only a moment before his expression returned to normal.
Turning the corner, he saw Tsunade—with her signature blonde hair and commanding presence—and the short-haired, refined-looking Shizune.
They passed by each other. Tsunade and Shizune gave Fugaku a quick glance before looking away.
Just a wandering ninja—nothing worth paying attention to.
If he'd been a wanted rogue ninja with a bounty on his head, they might have been more interested.
Led by the inn clerk, Fugaku entered the room he had been assigned.
"What are they doing here…?"
Closing the door behind him, he felt a twinge of unease.
Why were Tsunade and Shizune at a harbor town on the Fire-Water border? Could they, like him, be planning to take a ship to the Land of Water?
If they were heading to the Land of Water, would their objectives conflict with his own?
Tsunade, after all, was a Kage-level shinobi. If conflict did arise, it would surely cause him some trouble.
"Right… Tsunade is known to be particularly interested in ninja with Wood Release. And under my deliberate misdirection, most people now believe that those with Wood Release are somehow connected to Orochimaru."
"Tsunade is likely trying to track down Orochimaru. And if my guess is correct, Orochimaru should be in the Land of Water right now—just like me—targeting the bloodline limit ninja of Kirigakure."
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
That Orochimaru was in the Land of Water was practically a certainty.
Orochimaru had a subordinate named Kimimaro who possessed the Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse)—and it should be around this time that he recruited him in the Land of Water.
Tsunade must have gotten wind of Orochimaru's whereabouts, which would explain why she was headed there.
"I have no issue with Tsunade, but there's a good chance I'll clash with Orochimaru…"
He muttered to himself.
Both he and Orochimaru were after Kirigakure's bloodline limit shinobi—so conflict between them seemed inevitable.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Orochimaru is powerful, no doubt—but at best, he's someone I need to be wary of, not someone I fear."
He gave a cold snort and put the matter out of mind.
The next day, Uchiha Fugaku checked out of the inn.
Almost at the same time, Tsunade and Shizune also checked out.
"So they're leaving today too…"
Fugaku glanced at Tsunade and Shizune with mild surprise but said nothing as he headed toward the harbor.
Tsunade and Shizune, also somewhat surprised, gave him a brief glance and likewise walked toward the harbor.
Since they were all headed to the same place, they inevitably ended up walking the same street—and in the end, they even boarded the same ship.
Merchant ships bound for the Land of Water ran every day or two. If departure times aligned, passengers usually ended up on the same vessel.
"Lady Tsunade, that wandering ninja is a little suspicious. Heading to the Land of Water at a time like this?"
Once they were on board and in their cabin, Shizune whispered quietly to Tsunade.
"Yes… it is a bit suspicious."
Tsunade nodded. That wandering ninja gave off a strange vibe.
According to the information they'd gathered, the Land of Water was currently in turmoil. Its internal situation was extremely unstable.
Most wandering shinobi were trying to get out of the Land of Water yet this man was heading in.